Why Study Graphic Novels?

It’s been interesting to see people’s reactions when I mention that I am taking a graphic novels course this semester. Some people wonder why such a course is offered; others wonder why, even if it is offered, I would choose to take such a course anyway. People who think grad school should be difficult and focused on academics think the course sounds too easy; some people wonder how one can study something like a graphic novel for an entire semester.

Comics and comic books have a long history of being despised by parents, teachers, and sometimes even librarians. Literary critics contend that graphic novels are not literature; teachers beg students to put down comics and read “real” books. The archetypal child who hides his comic book inside his history or math textbook still exists. It seems like the people who love comic books really, truly love them; likewise, those who find comics and graphic novels to be somehow “less than” are not persuaded even when confronted with award-winning graphic novels.

However, it is undeniable that comics have been and still remain popular, not just with children, but also adults. And with the recent surge in the popularity of young adult literature has come a surge in the publication and popularity of graphic novels and comics. Graphic novels have gained new respect as educators have begun to understand the potential benefits of graphic novels in the classroom, not only as a bridge into traditional print novels, but also as a medium in and of themselves. Many publishers are now producing graphic novel versions of traditional classics, from The Boxcar Children to Shakespeare, in addition to works that appear exclusively in graphic novel form.

My personal experience with graphic novels has been rather limited. I have enjoyed the graphic novel adaptations of other novels I have read; I have also read comic strip collections such as those featuring Garfield or the Dykes to Watch Out For. I have read several graphic novels for other classes, but my go-to medium of choice is still a traditional print book or, more recently, an e-book. Part of this is probably due to the fact that I like to imagine what things look like instead of seeing what the illustrator thinks they should look like. A larger part, though, is due to a lack of practice in reading graphic novels. It takes more time to look at the pictures or even process the order of the frames; especially when reading a traditional manga where the book is printed “backwards.” It makes sense to me that a person who prefers comics or graphic novels would continue to read in that medium; the transition to a traditional print book has to be at least as difficult as my transition to graphic works.

So why study graphic novels? Because graphic novels and comics are a medium that my future patrons enjoy reading, and I need to be able to make intelligent choices regarding collection development and hold my own when advising readers on what to read next. And because this is not a genre that I would choose to read on my own, I need to force myself to experience this genre and learn more about it.

Do you enjoy graphic novels or comic books? Is there a particular book or series that you especially enjoy and recommend that I read?

Ender's World

Card, Orson Scott. Ender's World: Fresh Perspectives on the SF Classic Ender's Game. Smart Pop, 2013.

Ender's World is a compilation of essays written by people (authors, military officers, teachers) who have been influenced by the book Ender's Game. The essays cover a wide range of topics and are interspersed with questions to Card as well as his answers.

I enjoyed this book - not as much as Ender's Game, to be sure - but it was fun to read other Ender's Game geeks' opinions and thoughts concerning the book and the themes it presents. I'm glad I was able to read this essay collection, and I look forward to the next installment in the Enderverse.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley for the purposes of review.

PS - Each essay author mentioned his/her first reading of Ender's Game. I first read it on recommendation from my little sister. I was on Christmas break during my freshman year of college. I remember devouring Ender's Game, then returning to savor it many times since. I am glad to say that I have passed this love of all things Ender on to my former students, friends, and fiancee, too.

Run, Clarissa, Run

Eliason, Rachel. Run, Clarissa, Run. Rachel Eliason, 2012.

Clarissa is a transgender teen who has been raised as a boy named Clark. [For the sake of consistency and simplicity, I am choosing to refer to Clarissa by her chosen name and preferred gender, regardless of her gender presentation.]  Clarissa is constantly teased at school, often violently so, and is misunderstood by her mother, her brother, even her therapist. After some unfortunate incidents involving the father of a family for whom Clarissa babysits, Clarissa decides to run away to Bangkok where she hires a doctor and receives the SRS (sex reassignment surgery) that she has been dreaming of.

This story has a lot of interesting aspects - the computer hacking Clarissa does, for example.  It also seems to me that Clarissa has to deal with a larger portion of problems than a typical teen - even a typical transgender teen - does.  The man for whom she is babysitting seduces her and nearly rapes her (making her the fourth in a line of teens who were assaulted by this man).  Once she runs away, the FBI and the State Department come after her.  There's a subplot where Tony, her almost-rapist, is accused of insider trading.

This was a difficult story to read. I didn't want Clarissa to have to face SRS alone, much less in a country halfway around the world.  I wanted the school bullies to learn not to tease.  I wanted everything to end happily ever after.  Even though it didn't, the story itself was very satisfying to read.

I have only one caveat: The author of this story self-published her work, so the book did not go through the normal round of edits that comes from a major publisher.  English gurus and grammar nazis will be bothered by misuses of set/sat, then/than, apostrophes, commas, etc.  The errors are not so extreme that they caused me to put the book down, but they were a distracting annoyance in what was otherwise a very interesting story.

I'm BAAAAAAACK!

Greetings, faithful readers.

My apologies for the very long delay.  Life has been complicated.  Since the last time I posted, the following things have happened:

1.  I had my carpal tunnel surgery and came through just fine.
2.  I finished my first year as a SLIS graduate student.
3.  My sweetheart's dad died suddenly.
4.  I interned at a beautiful public library in a town quite similar to my hometown and got to work with some awesome librarians and kiddos.
5.  I started my second year of grad school.
6.  My mom died suddenly.
7.  I got engaged.
8.  I got a part-time job as a circulation clerk and was able to say good-bye to my retail position.

So it's been a busy few months.  2012 was not the best year in the world, but I am hoping that 2013 will be better.  One of the things that I am doing differently is reviving my blog, including reviews of books I've been reading while I've been in graduate school.

If you are still here reading my blog after this long absence, thank you for sticking around! If you're new to my blog, here's hoping that I can keep up with it better this year.

A Tragic Day

Greetings, faithful readers:

Unfortunately, I have recently been diagnosed with severe carpal tunnel syndrome, and as such, I am going to take a hiatus from blogging for an as-yet-undetermined period of time. My surgery is scheduled for just a few weeks from now, and after that I will doubtless need to refrain from unnecessary wrist movements.

However, this is still child abuse awareness month, and as such, I'd like to give you a list of resources I've posted from the past few years.  Feel free to browse through prior posts for information about this important month:

April 2011
April 2010

I will still be checking in occasionally, so feel free to comment or to contact me via email.  Or, if you have any suggestions for things I can do that don't involve my dominant hand (movies to watch, etc.), I'd welcome your input.